Renovations
by WhiteLadyDragon
Summary: In a sense, he needs to make sure she's happy while she's here. It would benefit him if she was. This applies to all of them, really. Why has her happiness become especially imperative? A companion fic to SOTC. L x OC. Written for DarkTari.


_**Disclaimer! **_**All fictional entities featured/ mentioned in this segment belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata; except Erin Blogger, who I made up for the purpose of this fan fiction. Hulk belongs to Marvel Comics, and DDR belongs to Konami. **

**DarkTari requested that I write more companion one-shots from L's POV. Thanks for your readership, my friend! This one is for you! **

_**RENOVATIONS**_

Erin Blogger doesn't appear to be in as big of a rush to go home as she initially had been. It's almost funny, now. When he'd first brought her into custody, she's protested until she'd turned blue that she "doesn't have forever to waste" (as though catching Kira was going to quite literally take them forever). Not to mention the past few months she's spent egging him every chance she'd get about postponing work just because he'd gotten a little depressed about being wrong about Light's guilt (he's always suspected Kira to be highly intelligent and cunning, but he may have underestimated him, if that's even possible, which had only depressed him all the more).

Now that things are back in gear, here she is complaining to Misa about the lack of adequate "breaks" for the task force as they paint their toenails on her sofa, while he watches from the discretion of the monitor room. "Breaks" which will cut in on work towards apprehending Kira and thus prolong her wait for her release.

Women: they must truly have the clearest minds, since they constantly change them.

"I mean, have you gotten a look at Aizawa, lately? Or Mogi, or Mr. Yagami? Mr. Yagami looks the worst, don't you think? No offense." She lowers her voice to a whisper, as though that will keep her observation from being heard. "Every day he looks a little grayer…when was the last time he and Light have seen their family? _Really _seen them? When have any of the guys gotten to see their folks?"

"Who knows? What worries Misa is that since Misa is Light's girlfriend, she should be on top of things like that. So if I don't know, then he hasn't spent quality time with his family in a long time. But Kira doesn't take breaks, so Misa guesses that we can't, either."

In a certain sense, one could say that Kira _is _taking a break. He's sitting right next to him typing away while somewhere, a proxy carries on his work for him with his powers. But did Light Yagami will for his powers to pass to someone else, or did someone lurking in the wings?

"Well, if they're gonna spend all of their time here, I think they should at least be more comfortable while they do. They'll just burn themselves out if they don't take a couple hours to unwind…"

Misa blows on her big toe as she screws the cap back on the bottle of cherry-red polish. "We've got a gym here, and a firing range downstairs. Oh, and the break room."

"The gym and firing range are there so the guys can stay at the top of their game. I'm all for that, don't get me wrong, but they should have a chance to, you know, do their own thing for a while, call their folks and stuff, especially if they can't just go out. Kinda like what we're doing, right now."

Erin raises her leg up into the air and wiggles her toes to dry the teal paint she's just applied to her nails. She's about four shoe sizes larger than her companion, and normally it would be grubby and tough with wear, but her foot is soft and pink like Misa's, as it should be, seeing that she's just taken a shower. She's not generally the type to paint her nails; Misa must have talked her into it. She appears to be enjoying herself.

"And the break room's not much more than a kitchenette. You eat and cook in a kitchenette, you can't really chill in there. Not in those chairs."

By the way she voices her concern for the well-being of the officers, her growing attachment to them may be one of the reasons she isn't as pushy about closing the case, these days. Why she doesn't verbalize such concern for _his _welfare nearly as frequently is a mystery he is still trying to unravel when Kira is not on his mind.

He only takes up cases that pique his interest. Perhaps this one interests him because it's about himself?

…

Since when did he start caring about what anyone thought about him, anyway?

"I think if Ryuzaki had the dough to build this entire crazy building, he can stand to vamp the break room. Some recliners would be a great start…maybe a couple of beanbag chairs. Video games, pool or ping-pong, foosball, maybe an air hockey table—this is all just me, of course, making assumptions on what they'd like."

"Ooh, do you think Ryuzaki could get a DDR™ system, too?" Misa wonders aloud, now that the ball is rolling. "I'd love to have one of those around."

Erin's complexion turns noticeably wan at the game's mentioning. "Uh, I dunno. That game is a death-trap with flashing lights and catchy beats."

"Oh, Elin's just saying that because she has two left feet and can't dance. If we had DDR™, maybe you could overcome that?"

Her concern for the task force is appreciated, but this is the Kira Task Force Headquarters, not a recreational center. Would they also like a system where they win cheesy tickets that they can cash in for cheesier prizes? Maybe a swimming pool on the rooftop?

"Hmph. Maybe." Erin nestles herself into the corner of the sofa, almost as though she's trying to squeeze into the spot between the arm and the cushion. He notes her toes wiggling with mild embarrassment; teal does look rather nice on them. Moments later, however, she regains some composure.

"Y'know, Misa, between you and me, I only really get to go to all the good places when you and Matsu are home and we go on outings. It gets really boring here when you aren't, what with everyone working and all. Sure, I get in spats with Ryuzaki, but…that gets kinda old. Drives me crazy. Not good-crazy, either. Mostly, not."

…

They seem to have forgotten that he can hear everything they're saying.

"And it's not like I _like _spatting with him. I sure as hell don't start them on purpose. But I can't help that he's a jerk."

One could call him selfish, arrogant, stubborn, all of that. He is many things, but there are also quite a few things that he isn't. "Old," used in this context to mean "predictable" or "boring," is one of them. To be predictable is dangerous; it provides the enemy ideas for effective counter-measures. Also, most of the "spats" between them are usually created by her. It's not as if he deliberately approaches her to spark conflict, although there is something mildly amusing in the way she tries to push back, despite her timid nature…

He is not boring. He will prove this by pulling off something unexpected.

Once he's made the proper preparations, of course.

…

Four days later, Matsuda's making a ruckus. He'd gone to brew a fresh pot of coffee for them and returned raving about the "awesome renovations" to the break room. Predictably, this catches Erin's attention.

Watari is there to greet them, looking tired but pleased. "Allow me the pleasure to introduce you all to the new and improved task force break room."

"Oh my God!" he hears her squeal before he and Light start their trek down the hallway. "Look at this place! You did all this, Watari? You rock!"

He steps inside just in time to see her envelop Watari in a bear hug, in the middle of the room complete with a sofa, two beanbag chairs, a flat-screen TV with several of the latest video game consoles, and ping-pong, foosball and air hockey tables (to name the most important features).

Even Light's eyes widen with mild astonishment. "Whoa, Ryuzaki. I didn't think you had it in you to be so...generous."

"Huh?"

Watari nods to Erin. "It's true. I was merely in charge of putting the room together. You have Ryuzaki to thank for the funding."

Naturally, the room falls into an awkward silence as soon as Watari brings this up. Erin bites her lip, looking a bit disturbed, for a moment. Is she disturbed because he had listened in on her conversation and actually acted on it? For what possible reason could he have done this?

"As I've said before, I'd like us to be able to spend as much time here as possible. According to my research, providing employees recreational time helps to greatly boost productivity and morale."

(He had actually looked up on this to analyze beforehand how this would affect their work; this hadn't been something he'd had to research before this case, seeing as he'd never previously had to work with people face-to-face.)

"That being said, there will be a few rules regarding usage of the break room, the most important being that everyone gets but two hours a day for free time, and that we must be notified before you go on break."

(He still has an investigation to run, and he wouldn't want to spoil them any more than necessary.)

She reaches up to scratch the back of her neck. She's having difficulty making eye contact with him. "…Well, I guess it's not appropriate then for me to say that it's the thought that counts. I didn't even think you'd know what 'morale' was…"

"Morale: a noun indicating the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a particular time. I think I would know this if it would affect the investigation in any way."

"Uhm…yeah. Thanks, anyway. I think."

For some reason, her arms start to stretch out in front of her as she half-consciously shuffles towards him. What is she doing? Does she want to give him a hug? He's seen her hug other members of the task force when she's grateful to them, particularly Matsuda. It must be a habit of hers to touch someone when she's thanking them.

He tenses up, digs into the fabric lining the inside of his pockets with his fingertips. It's a reflex; he's not used to receiving touches, let alone hugs. Last time someone touched him, he'd been launched across the room off of his assailant's knuckles. Erin must see this because she stops before she makes contact.

Her face turns bright pink. Her face virtually always has color in it. "Oh. Right. I almost forgot. You're not a touchy-feely kind of guy." Her hands seem to take up life of their own as they fidget about, like they're torn between shaking his hand or patting his head. Something.

It's as if she's afraid that the slightest brush of her fingers against any part of him will make him attack her.

Odd, considering how she's not afraid to give him "noogies," on occasion. Although that usually happens when she's too irritated to think about the consequences.

She eventually settles for a slight salute and a crooked smile. "Well, thanks, Ryuzaki. I think the guys will love what you've done with the place, anyway." She doesn't hesitate to toddle off towards the foosball table and take a side. "Now who wants to help me break in this foosball table?"

How would he have reacted, had she gone through with that hug? It's strange: a part of him briefly wishes she would have, if only so he may get an answer to that question.

Naturally, Matsuda is the first to volunteer. If anyone is going to make any real use of the break room's new features, it would be him, Erin, and Misa. "Count me in! I still have time before we have to go out to today's shoot."

"Mr. Matsuda, are you sure you want to drop everything and play now? You still have coffee to get," he reminds their youngest officer dryly. His hands still deep in his pockets, he makes his abrupt exit out of the room with Light in tow, the younger man's discomfort far from the top of his list of priorities.

"Hey! What's your problem today, Ryuzaki? Is something the matter?"

"Yes. I've made the foolish mistake of starting my morning without coffee. Matsuda have better snap to it."

"What's gonna happen if he doesn't?" Erin calls back at him, fiddling with the knobs that control the rows of plastic players. "Are you gonna go Hulk™ on everyone?"

Matsuda, however, is not willing to take that chance. "Ah, d-don't worry, Ryuzaki! I'll have that coffee in a jiff!"

…

In a certain sense, he _needs_ to make sure she's happy while she's here. It would benefit him if she was; the more content she is, the less inclined she would be to bother him, and the more willing she'd be to do what he wants. This applies to all of them, really. It's one of the oldest tactics in leading a group of people.

Otherwise, he wouldn't normally care so much about whether someone was happy or not. It hadn't been necessary to care before. Moreover, she doesn't even work here.

Why has her happiness become especially imperative?

The girls are taking in the new break room several hours later, trying to determine whether the DDR™ system tucked in the corner is real or a hallucination. Just as before, he can hear every word:

"I can't believe he'd actually go out of this way to—"

"Don't you think it's suspicious, Elin? You talk about how the guys should have more stuff to do in the break room while they're here so they can relax, and just days later, _poof! _Everything you wanted! Misa thinks he was listening in on us…"

He can see the way her throat tightens as she swallows. "Well, yeah, there's the surveillance thing. He might've heard it. But he's never _listened_ to anything I've said before, hardly. Or to what anyone else says."

Perhaps. Or perhaps she's too busy refusing to notice whenever he _does?_

"Elin," Misa teases in a singsong voice, "Misa thinks he did it to impress you."

"N-no way, that's just too crazy for words! It's a lot more likely he just did it to get me to quit whining. Plus, he told me specifically that he did it 'cause he looked up that it would help the task force work better. I _would _call this a nice gesture normally, but he's only giving the guys two hours a day for breaks. And they have to _tell _him when they're breaking. He takes off whenever he wants, regardless of what anyone has to say about it."

…

"Well, maybe he really meant all of this stuff to be for _you?_"

"I-if this was all really for me, he'd have probably put it in my room, not in a room that everyone uses. And again, it's to get me to stop complaining about having nothing to do. The guy is sick of me, and I can't say the feeling isn't mutual."

It's amazing, how quick she is to rationalize when it comes to him. Mostly for the "nice" things, not the things he does for the case. She thinks she knows him that well. This is made even more amusing by how she's tugging at her shirt collar, like the idea that he'd do something to please her makes her genuinely uneasy.

Does she dislike him that much? Does he make her _that _uncomfortable? Her daring attempt to hug him from earlier contradicts this considerably. Not that it's any skin off of his nose, either way.

"Still, I guess since this is all here…we shouldn't let it go to waste. I sure hope this stuff is all legit, though. I didn't find any tags, but you know Ryuzaki…"

"For shame! Hasn't Elin heard that you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth?"

Oh, please. He doesn't break the law _that _often. Only when he has to. The money they'd paid for the renovations had been paltry, at best.

Still, if this keeps her from fully enjoying them, he supposes he could have Watari show her the receipts, with all of the classified information censored out.

Women: they must truly have the clearest minds, since they constantly change them.

And lately, he hasn't been much better.

_**END**_


End file.
